Airship



AIRSHIP Filed OGC. l. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 s 5%' .LS

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Sept. 18 1923 J. P. THURELI.

AIRsHI'P med oct. 1. 1921 2 Sheets-She@ 2 l wueufoz name/J l @PatentedSept. i8, i923..

tri-eater JOHN E?. THURELL, 0F 'NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS.

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Application filed October 1, 192,1. v"serial No. 504,656.

To all whom t may concern:

Be itl known that l, JOHN P. THURELL, Va citizen of the United States,residing at North Adams, in the county of Berkshire and State ofMassachusetts, have Vinvented new and useful Improvements in Airships,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to airships and particularly to that type knownas lighter-thanairvmachines7 and has for one of its objects theprovision of an aeronautical vessel of this class in which the gas bagor container is of-rigid construction and so shaped eX- t-ernally as tofunction as an aeroplane.

Another object of the invention is the construction of an inherentlybuoyant airship provided with an upper hollow aeroplane filledl withlighter-than-air gas and a lower aeroplane underlying the Vupper planeand tiltable fore and aft along a horizontal axis.

Another object of the invention is to provide propellers arrangedsymmetrically on each sidev of the body of the'airship beneath the upperaeroplane and forwardly of the lowertiltableaeroplane so that theexhaust rdraft from said, propellers will create a pressure against theoverlying` portions of the upper aeroplane and against the forn wardlyinclined surface ofthe lower aeroplane, thus assisting in the supportand directing of the airship.

Another object of the invention is the provision of independentlyoperated vertically and horizontally tiltable rudders of the balancedtype one of which acts also as an aeroplane and is in the path of theexhaust draft from the propellers.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inherently buoyantairship of all metal construction having a manhole in the Y uppersurface of the gas container, substantially above the center of mass ofsaid airship, closed by an inwardly opening cover plate of largerdimensions than said opening and provided with meansfor suspending saidairship in a hangar.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in theimproved 'airship illustrated inthe accompanyingY drawings, described|inthe following specification,

and particularly claimed, and in such variations andY modificationsthereof as will be obvious ,to those skilled inthe art' to whichl myinvention relates.

In the drawings accompanying and formi, ing a part of thisspecification, and wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention isillustrated z-f Y Figure l is a side elevation of the airship embodyingmy invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the airship with the gas retainer removed.

`Figure 8 is an elevation of the front end of t-he airship. Y

Figurev t is a plan view of the manhole with the cover attached.

A Figure 5 is a cross section taken along the line 5 5 of Figure 4;. i

In the drawings, the numeral l represents the body of the airship whichis preferably made from a light metal such as aluminum or one of itsalloys and is supported on the ground wheels 2. liithin, the body, isequipped with seatsand forms the living quarters for the crew of theairship.

' Carried transversely toward the forward end of the bodly l is ahorizontal platform 3 which extends Voutn'fardly from opposite sides ofthe body and is` substantially braced to the sides thereof by theinclined members 4 which are best shown in Figure 3. Said platform andbracing members are arranged to present an edge thereof longitudinallyof direction of movement of the airship in order to minimize the headresistance of the airship when the latter is in motion. Supported on theouter ends of the platform 3 are the engine blocks 5 each of whichcarries a forwardly directed propeller 7. The engine may be driventogether or separately as may be desired and neither the erating them isto be construed as a part of this invention. Y

4 Supported by the body is a light metallic super-structure comprising apair of upper tension members 8 outwardly flanged as at 16 and a pair oflower tension members 9 the members of each pair being supported a fixedVdistance apart by horizontal spacing bars4 l0 and the pairs beingseparated by vertical struts l1A secured therebetween at regularintervals. The tension members of each pair come together at the frontgiving a prow shape to the forward end of the super-structure. e Thissuper-structure extends to the. rearwa rd -of the body a substantialdistance and the forward portion thereof carries on its upper side thegas container l2 which is made of aluminum or some light alloy which ischaracterized by tensile strength. The top 'structure of the lenginesnor the mode of opof the gas container consists of a fiat sheet 13 tothe under part of which is secured the elongated convex envelope 14. Thesurface.

y of the latter is designed with stream-line contour as is also thefront of the body 15 in order to present as little head resistance aspossible to the air when the airship is in motion. The top 13 extendsbeyond the envelope 14 on all sides and cooperates therewith to functionas an aeroplane in Vassisting in the support of the airship. Theaeroplane 12 is securely anchored to the fianges 16 of the tensionmembers 8 by means of stay bolts 17 which extend through the gascontainer and are secured by nuts to said flanges 16 and to the top 13of the gas container. The rear end of the top 13 and the super-stru@ture are mutually braced by the inclined members 18. The gas container12 is pref- 20 erably lined with gas proof fabric to ensure againstleakage through the metallic joints between Vthe top and the envelop 14.v

That portionof the super-structure which overhangs the body. to the rearcarries the rudder controls comprising the horizontal rudder 19 and thevertical rudder 20. These rudders are of the balanced type, that is theyare symmetrical on both sides of their axes of rotation. By thisconstruction it is provided that the air pressure on one-half of therudder is exactly balanced by the pressure on the other half so thatthere is no tendency of said rudders to tilt from any extraneousrcausebut only in obedience to the positive control means by which their move-.ments are directed. In the embodiment of my invention shown thevertical rudder 2()V swings about an axis which is supported by therearmost pair of horizontal spacing members 10 and the horizontal rudderswings about an axis of support which is journalled in an intermediatepair of the vertical struts 11. The rudders are controlled by iiexiblecables 21 and 22 each of which is suitably attached at both ends to itsrespectiwe rudder and wound several times around an independent drum orwindless 23 or 24 which is controlled by the handle 25. By winding thecables around the windlasses 23 and 24 slippage is prevented and therudders are positively controlled in both directions.

The horizontal rudder extends transversely on either side of thesuper-structure and into the path of the. exhaust from the propellers 7.It also lies in a position superposed by the upper aeroplane 12. In thisposition the rudder is enabled vto take advantage of the powerful,draft-of exhaust 0 an which passes rearwardly from the propellers andwhich materially assists the rudder in elevating or depressingthe-airship.

In order to prevent rolling or pitching of the airship'the body 1 isprovidedzwith lon- 4gitudinal rigid wings 26 extending .out-

incassa wardly and acting by'their resistance against the air asstablizers for the machine.

Gas is admitted to the container 12 by the gas cock 27 connected to theunder` surface of the envelope 14, and a manhole 28 is provided in thetop 13 of the gas container at a point substantially above the center ofmass of the' airship. Said manhole is large enough to permit theentrance of a man into the gas container for the purpose of makingrepairs, and is covered by an inwardly opening cover plate 29 which ismade larger than said manhole and abuts against the inner surface of thetop 13.v The edge of the manhole is strengthened by the substantialreinforcing plate 31 against which the bars 32 are clamped by boltssecured to the cover.

plate in order` to fasten the latter gas tight relation to the manhole.The cover plate ismade of strong material and carries the hook 30 bywhich the airship may be suspended when in the hangar.

Having described my `invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is :-V Y

1. An airship comprising a body, an aeroplane secured to said body, saidaeroplane` having a flat upper wall, a concave lower wall cooperatingwith said upper wall to form a gas-tight chamber having a convex lowersurface including a sloping rear portion, an engine driven propellercarried by aeroplane and a horizontal tilting rudder carried beneathsaid V.aeroplane and rearwardly ofsaid sloping portion and in the pathof the exhaust draft from said propeller. n

- 2. An airship comprising a body, a hollow aeroplane having a flatupper surface and vthe forward part of said'body beneath said Y convexlower surface formed by attached walls. enclosing a gas-tight chamber,said aeroplane beingsecuredto said bodyV by stay bolts passing throughan-V element of said body and through said gas-tight chamber to theupper wall thereof.

3. An airship comprising a body, a hollow aeroplane having a fiat uppersurface and convex lower surface formed byv attached walls, enclosing agas-tight chamber, an engine driyen propeller carried by the forwardpart of said body beneath said aeroplane, horizontal and verticalrudders supported by SaidframeWQrk to the rearward of the body, saidhorizontal rudder lying beneath said aeroplane and rearwardly of saidconvex surface in the path of the exhaust draft from said propeller.V

4. An airship comprising a body, a hol-V low aeroplane having a flatupper. surface and convex lower surface formed: by at.

zontal tilting rudder having the surface thereof equally distributed oneach side of its axis of rota-tion, said rudder being car- Aried beneathsaid aeroplane to the rear of said convex surface and in the path of theexhaust draft from said propeller.

5. Anairship comprising a body, a hollow aeroplane having a flat uppersurface and convex lower surface formed by attached walls, enclosing agas-tight chamber, means for securing said aeroplane to an element ofsaid body, comprising stay bolts secured to said element at one end andpassing through said gas-tight chamber to the upper wall thereof, saidaeroplane and body being constructed of a light metal.

6. An airship comprising a body, a hollow aeroplane having a flat uppersurface and convex lower surface formed by attached walls, Venclosing agas-tight chamber, means for securing said aeroplane to said bodycomprising stay bolts anchored at their opposite ends to the flat upperWall and said body respectively, said Hat upper wall being provided witha man hole, an inwardly opening cover for said manhole, said cover beingof larger dimensions than said manhole and abutting the inner side ofthe peripheral edge of said manhole when closed.

7. An airship comprising abody, a hollow aeroplane having a flat uppersurface and convex lower surface formed by attached walls, enclosing agas-tight chamber, said aeroplane being secured to said body by staybolts anchored at their opposite ends to the upper wall of saidaeroplane and to said body, said upper wall being provided with amanhole located substantially above the center' of mass of said airship,a reinforcing plate surrounding said manhole, an inwardly opening coverfor said manhole, said cover being larger in dimensions than saidmanhole so as to abut the inner surface of the peripheral edge of saidmanhole when in closed position and a hook secured to said M manholecover for suspending said airship in a hangar.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOHN P. THURELL.

lVitnesses GEORGE E. THURELL, EDW. L. CLEVELAND.

